Military Engineering, GAT-PRO

Military engineering, the art and practice of designing and building military works and of building and maintaining lines of military transport and communications. Military engineering is the oldest of the engineering skills and was the precursor of the profession of civil engineering.
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Military Engineering Encyclopedia Articles By Title

Gatling gun
Gatling gun, hand-driven machine gun, the first to solve the problems of loading, reliability, and the firing of......
gauge
gauge, a measure of the bore of a shotgun. See...
German 88
German 88, versatile 88-millimetre (3.46-inch) multirole artillery piece, developed from 1917 by Germany. It was......
Goethals, George Washington
George Washington Goethals was a U.S. Army officer and engineer who directed the building of the Panama Canal.......
Grace, William R.
William R. Grace was an American shipowner and founder of W.R. Grace & Co., a corporation that was for many years......
grapeshot
grapeshot, cannon charge consisting of small round balls, usually of lead or iron, and used primarily as an antipersonnel......
Greek fire
Greek fire, any of several flammable compositions that were used in warfare in ancient and medieval times. More......
grenade
grenade, small explosive, chemical, or gas bomb that is used at short range. The word grenade probably derived......
Gribeauval, Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de
Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval was a French military officer and engineer whose developments of French artillery......
guided missile
guided missile, projectile provided with means for altering its direction after leaving its launching device. See...
gun
gun, weapon consisting essentially of a metal tube from which a missile or projectile is shot by the force of exploding......
gun control
gun control, politics, legislation, and enforcement of measures intended to restrict access to, the possession......
gunsight
gunsight, any of numerous optical devices that aid in aiming a firearm. Its forms include the simple iron sights......
halberd
halberd, weapon consisting of an ax blade balanced by a pick with an elongated pike head at the end of the staff.......
half-track
half-track, motor vehicle that has wheels in the front and tanklike tracks at the back. Rugged armoured all-terrain......
Halifax
Halifax, British heavy bomber used during World War II. The Halifax was designed by Handley Page, Ltd., in response......
handgun
handgun, any firearm small enough to be held in one hand when fired. It usually fires a single projectile or bullet,......
hard-target munition
hard-target munition, ammunition capable of damaging and destroying reinforced targets such as tanks and hardened......
HARM
HARM, supersonic air-to-surface tactical missile with the purpose of finding and destroying radar-equipped air......
harquebus
harquebus, first gun fired from the shoulder, a smoothbore matchlock with a stock resembling that of a rifle. The......
Harrier
Harrier, single-engine, “jump-jet” fighter-bomber designed to fly from combat areas and aircraft carriers and to......
Herzog, Chaim
Chaim Herzog was an Irish-born Israeli politician, soldier, lawyer, and author. He was an eloquent and passionate......
Horsa
Horsa, the main British-built assault glider of World War II. Designed by Airspeed Ltd., the Horsa first flew in......
Hotchkiss machine gun
Hotchkiss machine gun, originally a big-bore, hand-cranked, rapid-fire weapon developed in 1878 by Benjamin B.......
Hurricane
Hurricane, British single-seat fighter aircraft manufactured by Hawker Aircraft, Ltd., in the 1930s and ’40s. The......
ICBM
ICBM, Land-based, nuclear-armed ballistic missile with a range of more than 3,500 miles (5,600 km). Only the United......
Ilyushin Il-2
Ilyushin Il-2, single-seat assault bomber that was a mainstay of the Soviet air force during World War II. The......
improvised explosive device
improvised explosive device (IED), a homemade bomb, constructed from military or nonmilitary components, that is......
inertial guidance system
inertial guidance system, electronic system that continuously monitors the position, velocity, and acceleration......
intermediate-range nuclear weapons
intermediate-range nuclear weapons, Class of nuclear weapons with a range of 620–3,400 mi (1,000–5,500 km). Some......
Knudsen, William S
William S. Knudsen was a Danish-born American industrialist, an effective coordinator of automobile mass production......
Kościuszko, Tadeusz
Tadeusz Kościuszko was a Polish army officer and statesman who gained fame both for his role in the American Revolution......
Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, Alfried
Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach was a German industrialist, the last member of the Krupp dynasty of munitions......
Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, Gustav
Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach was a German diplomat who married the heiress of the Krupp family of industrialists,......
Krupp, Alfred
Alfred Krupp was a German industrialist noted for his development and worldwide sale of cast-steel cannon and other......
Lancaster
Lancaster, the most successful British heavy bomber of World War II. The Lancaster emerged from the response by......
lance
lance, spear used by cavalry for mounted combat. It usually consisted of a long wooden shaft with a sharp metal......
Lance missile
Lance missile, U.S.-made mobile short-range ballistic missile, capable of carrying either a conventional or a nuclear......
land mine
land mine, stationary explosive charge used against military troops or vehicles. See mine. (Read Nobelist Jody......
Lee-Enfield rifle
Lee-Enfield rifle, rifle adopted by the British army as its basic infantry weapon in 1902. The short, magazine-loaded......
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer whose skill and intelligence,......
Leonardo da Vinci’s parachute
Leonardo da Vinci discussed the parachute in a notebook entry now contained in the Codex Atlanticus. Although it......
lewisite
lewisite, in chemical warfare, poison blister gas developed by the United States for use during World War I. Chemically,......
longbow
longbow, bow commonly 6 feet (1.8 metres) tall and the predominant missile weapon of the English in the Hundred......
Luger pistol
Luger pistol, semiautomatic German hand weapon first manufactured in 1900 for both military and commercial use.......
M16 rifle
M16 rifle, assault rifle developed as the AR-15 by American engineer Eugene Stoner of ArmaLite Inc. in the late......
machine gun
machine gun, automatic weapon of small calibre that is capable of sustained rapid fire. Most machine guns are belt-fed......
MAG machine gun
MAG machine gun, general-purpose machine gun used primarily as a tank- or vehicle-mounted weapon, although it is......
matchlock
matchlock, in firearms, a device for igniting gunpowder developed in the 15th century, a major advance in the manufacture......
Maurice
Maurice was the hereditary stadtholder (1585–1625) of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, or Dutch Republic,......
Mauser rifle
Mauser rifle, any of a family of bolt-action rifles designed by Peter Paul Mauser (1838–1914), a German who had......
Maxim machine gun
Maxim machine gun, first fully automatic machine gun (q.v.), developed by engineer and inventor Hiram Maxim in......
Meigs, Montgomery C
Montgomery C. Meigs was a U.S. engineer and architect, who, as quartermaster general of the Union Army during the......
MG42
MG42, German general-purpose machine gun, used as a standard weapon by many armies around the world. The MG42 was......
MiG
MiG, any member of a family of Soviet military fighter aircraft produced by a design bureau founded in 1939 by......
MiG-15
MiG-15, single-seat, single-engine Soviet jet fighter, built by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau and first flown......
military communication
military communication, the transmission of information from reconnaissance and other units in contact with the......
military engineering
military engineering, the art and practice of designing and building military works and of building and maintaining......
mine
mine, in military and naval operations, a usually stationary explosive device that is designed to destroy personnel,......
Minuteman missile
Minuteman missile, intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that has been the mainstay of the land-based nuclear......
Mirage
Mirage, any member of a family of combat aircraft produced by the Dassault-Breguet aeronautics firm of France.......
MIRV
MIRV, any of several nuclear warheads carried on the front end, or “bus,” of a ballistic missile. Each MIRV allows......
missile
missile, a rocket-propelled weapon designed to deliver an explosive warhead with great accuracy at high speed.......
Molotov cocktail
Molotov cocktail, a crude bomb, typically consisting of a bottle filled with a flammable liquid and a wick that......
Montalembert, Marc-René, Marquis de
Marc-René, marquis de Montalembert was a French general and military engineer who replaced the complex star-shaped......
Morgan, John Pierpont, Jr.
John Pierpont Morgan, Jr. was an American banker and financier, the head of the Morgan investment banking house......
mortar
mortar, portable, short-barreled, muzzle-loading artillery piece that fires explosive projectiles at low velocities,......
Mosquito
Mosquito, British twin-engine two-seat mid-wing bomber aircraft that was adapted to become the prime night fighter......
musket
musket, muzzle-loading shoulder firearm, evolved in 16th-century Spain as a larger version of the harquebus. It......
mustard gas
mustard gas, in chemical warfare, a liquid agent that blisters the skin and mucous membranes upon direct contact.......
Myasishchev M-4
Myasishchev M-4, Soviet long-range bomber, the first jet bomber in the strategic air force of the Soviet Union......
napalm
napalm, the aluminum salt or soap of a mixture of naphthenic and aliphatic carboxylic acids (organic acids of which......
Napier, Robert Napier, 1st Baron
Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier was a British field marshal who had a distinguished military and civil engineering......
Navarro, Pedro, conde de Olivetto
Pedro Navarro, count de Olivetto was a Spanish military engineer and general who fought for various countries and......
nerve gas
nerve gas, Weapon of chemical warfare that affects the transmission of nerve impulses through the nervous system.......
neutron bomb
neutron bomb, specialized type of nuclear weapon that would produce minimal blast and heat but would release large......
night fighter
night fighter, in military aviation, a fighter aircraft with special sighting, sensing, and navigating equipment......
Nike missile
Nike missile, any of a series of U.S. surface-to-air missiles designed from the 1940s through the 1960s for defense......
Novichok
Novichok, group of organophosphate chemicals that act as nerve agents and were designed for use as weapons of chemical......
nuclear electromagnetic pulse
nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP), a time-varying electromagnetic radiation resulting from a nuclear explosion.......
onager
onager, in weaponry, ancient Roman torsion-powered weapon, similar to a catapult. It consisted of a single vertical......
P-38
P-38, fighter and fighter-bomber employed by the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. A large and powerful......
P-47
P-47, fighter and fighter-bomber used by the Allied air forces during World War II. A single-seat low-wing fighter......
P-51
P-51, a single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft originally designed and produced by North American Aviation......
Page, Robert Morris
Robert Morris Page was an American physicist known as the “father” of U.S. radar. Page changed his major from theology......
panzer
panzer, series of battle tanks fielded by the German army in the 1930s and ’40s. The six tanks in the series constituted......
Panzerfaust
Panzerfaust, shoulder-type German antitank weapon that was widely used in World War II. The first model, the Panzerfaust......
Panzerschreck
Panzerschreck, shoulder-type rocket launcher used as an antitank weapon by Germany in World War II. The Panzerschreck......
Paris Gun
Paris Gun, any of several long-range cannon produced by the German arms manufacturer Krupp in 1917–18 during World......
Peacekeeper missile
Peacekeeper missile, intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that was part of the United States’ strategic nuclear......
percussion lock
percussion lock, in firearms, ignition system of small arms that utilizes an explosive that detonates when sharply......
pike
pike, medieval infantry weapon, a long spear with a heavy wooden shaft 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 metres) long, tipped......
pistol
pistol, small firearm designed for one-hand use. According to one theory, pistols owe their name to the city of......
Polaris missile
Polaris missile, first U.S. submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) and the mainstay of the British nuclear......
Poncelet, Jean-Victor
Jean-Victor Poncelet was a French mathematician and engineer who was one of the founders of modern projective geometry.......
Poseidon missile
Poseidon missile, U.S. submarine-launched ballistic missile introduced in 1971 to replace the Polaris missile.......
proximity fuze
proximity fuze, an explosive ignition device used in bombs, artillery shells, and mines. The fuze senses when a......

Military Engineering Encyclopedia Articles By Title